''Acanthocharax'' is a genus of fish in the family

Characidae Characidae, the characids or characins is a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their st ...

. It contains the single species ''Acanthocharax microlepis'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, where it is found in the

Essequibo River The Essequibo River (Spanish: ''Río Esequibo'' originally called by Alonso de Ojeda ''Río Dulce'') is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil–Guyana bor ...

basin. It is found in fresh water at pelagic depths. This species is native to a tropical climate. This fish can reach a length of about 8.5 cm (3.3 in).

References

Characini Monotypic freshwater fish genera Freshwater fish of South America Fish of Guyana Endemic fauna of Guyana Fish described in 1912 {{Characidae-stub